


The Struggles of a Male Veela

by itsab



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, F/M, Hogwarts, Multi, Soulmates, Teen Romance, Veela Mates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23786857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsab/pseuds/itsab
Summary: Louis Weasley, the son of Bill and Fleur, is surprised by coming into his inheritance not too long after his sixteenth birthday. He is the first male in a long time to be blessed with the veela gene. His life could not get more complicated - until he meets his soulmate, and then it gets weirder (and more embarrassing).
Relationships: Louis Weasley/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	1. Of Veela Blood

**Author's Note:**

> This is an altered timeline!

Louis Weasley was of veela blood.

The gene ran through the blood of his mother’s family. Various members of the line had been veelas, some marrying into the family, others being born so. Louis’ own mother, Fleur Weasley nee Delacour, had been only one quarter veela, stemming from her grandmother.

Louis was lucky, or unlucky, that his father’s blood was tainted. Not in the way many old pureblood families will claim, but rather through an experience he faced. Whilst not a true werewolf (as he was not bitten on the full moon), Bill Weasley did hold the slight changes of were-kind, none more obvious than in his veins. The mix of bloods that pulsed through Louis’ veins meant that he inherited the full-veela gene.

As well as all the problems that included.

* * *

His changing happened not long after his sixteenth birthday. The school term was to end in three days, and Louis had just been leaving the OWL examination room (he had taken his Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL) when he collapsed. He’d been feeling weird all morning, slightly feverish and he had a headache, one that only increased during the exam.

Teddy Lupin, current head-boy, and godson of Harry Potter, called over to his ‘cousin’, “Louis?” When there was no response, or movement, he ran over. “Mate?” Teddy himself had just come from a NEWT examination (Transfiguration), just down the hall. Carefully, Teddy lifted the younger boy into his arms, barely straining at all. “Out the way!” He shouted to the small crowd that formed around the two, before heading off to the hospital ward, his normally bright blue hair turning a concerning red. “Madame Bones!” He’d pushed into the room, and quickly manoeuvred his younger ‘cousin’ onto the closest bed.

The nurse ran over, spotting that the boy was unconscious, and that Teddy Lupin was beginning to worry. “What’s happened?”

“Nothing Miss, he just collapsed!” Teddy explained, “He came out of his exam, and he just toppled over!”

Madame Bones pressed her hand to the boy’s forehead, then his neck, and felt that he was burning up. “He’s feverish,” She checked his pulse next, “And his pulse is racing.” Conjuring up a cold, wet towel, she pressed it to the handsome young man’s forehead. “Mr. Lupin, please go fetch the Headmistress, and any of your relatives you find on the way.”

“Yes, Miss.” Teddy nodded, and gave a glance towards the now sweating young boy, before rushing out.

Whilst he was gone, Madame Bones got to work, pulling out several bottles, and a quick quill, which composed a letter to Bill and Fleur Weasley, explaining that their son was sick, and that he was in her care. After the war, it became obvious to many of the teachers that those involved in said war were much more attentive, and worrisome, than parents had been in the past. It was well known how Ginny Potter, and Andromeda Tonks, had burst into the hospital ward in Teddy’s first year, both fretting over his fall in flying class, nearly starting a fight with Madame Bones over his care. Not long after the nurse replaced the cold compress on Louis’ forehead, did several of his family members come running into the ward, frantic looks on their faces.

Out of the entire Weasley/Potter brood, Louis was one of the most tame, non-clumsy, and non-accident prone. For him to be laying on that bed unconscious, it meant whatever was going on was very serious.

The first into the room was Victoire Weasley, twin sister to the Gryffindor on the bed. The Ravenclaw fifth-year rushed to the side of her brother, her blonde hair flying out behind her, tears gathering in her eyes at the sight of her twin. “Louis! Madame Bones, what’s going on?” She began running her hands over her brothers face, feeling the intense heat behind his skin, and pulling her hands away in shock.

Before the nurse could answer, third-year Gryffindor James Sirius Potter was running into the room, followed by fellow third-year Gryffindor’s’ Roxanne and Fred (II) Weasley. The second set of twins in the family were the son and daughter of George and Angelina Weasley. “What’s wrong?” All three panted out, having run from several floors away, at top speed, after Teddy had run past shouting that Louis was sick.

“Louis’s ill!” Victoire cried out, her face screwed up in fear, “He’s unconscious, and really warm!” As she explained to her cousins, they came closer, careful to stay behind Victoire, on one side of the bed, and out of Madame Bones’ way.

“What’s up?” Albus Severus Potter (first-year Slytherin), the calmest of all the Weasley/Potter brood, strolled into the large room. With him, was a concerned Rose Weasley (first-year Gryffindor, daughter to Ron and Hermione Weasley), and a frantic Dominique Weasley (second-year Hufflepuff, and youngest sibling to Victoire and Louis).

As these members of the crew joined the others, Victoire and James filling them all in on what they’d figured out, the powerful and tall figure of Professor McGonagall, headmistress of Hogwarts, entered the room. Behind her was Professor Longbottom, Herbology professor, long-time friend to the Weasley/Potter brood, and head of Gryffindor. Teddy Lupin was bringing up the rear, with the last members of the family (whom attended Hogwarts), Molly Weasley II; a sixth-year Gryffindor, and Lucy Weasley; a second-year Ravenclaw. Both were the daughters to former Hogwarts head-boy, Percy Weasley.

“Madame Bones,” the Scottish brogue of the headmistress began, “What seems to be the issue here?” The woman had known the Potters’ and Weasleys’ for nearly her entire teaching career, and even before that as Charlus Potter had been a prefect when she was in her first year of Hogwarts, and thus she was concerned.

“Did you send word to the parents?” Professor Longbottom, or Uncle Neville to most of these children, questioned, knowing very well the temperament of Fleur Weasley.

“I sent an owl, almost fifteen minutes ago.” Madame Bones answered. “However, I have a feeling that we may need the input of those at St. Mungo’s on this case.” The woman shared a significant look with the headmistress, silently telling her that this issue was serious. Turning to the Weasley brood, her eyes focussed on the siblings of Louis, she asked a question that hushed the children, “Does your family have a history with veelas?”

“Yes.”

“Oui.”

The English answer came from the two young girls, who stood at the bedside of their brother. The French affirmative had come from the mouth of Fleur Weasley nee Delacour, who’d flooed into the castle, via the fireplace in the very ward they all stood in.

“We ‘ave a long ‘istory of veelas. The Delacour’s’ ‘ave always been part veela, I myself am one quarter veela.” The woman swept over to her son’s side, the children parting to let her through. “Oh, ma cherie!” Fleur cried out, finally seeing her son. Her blonde hair was now greying slightly, and her face showed the faintest signs of aging – yet she only looked aged in her eyes, which were slightly dull as she looked at the pain her Louis was in.

“That means the last full veela was one of your grandparents?” Madame Bones questioned carefully, knowing well the anger and pain that any mother feels could cause them to lash out.

“Oui.”

Professor McGonagall was confused at where the nurse was going with her questioning, “What are you trying to say?”

Madame Bones sighed, “I’ve seen a few cases like this, when I was training in France.” She looked at Fleur, making sure their eyes were locked, “Mr. Weasley seems to be going through the ‘changing’.”

Those who knew what this meant, gasped.

“’zat iz not possible.” Fleur whispered, her shock making her accent thicker. “’zere ‘as not been a male veela for ‘undred of years!” She stroked the side of her son’s face, knowing deep down the woman was right. “’ow did ‘e inherit, though?”

“Yeah, Louis and I should be less than one quarter veela!” Victoire commented, knowing what was being suggested.

Albus Potter, still the calmest in the room, drawled out, “Perhaps it has to do with Uncle Bill’s bite?”

Professor McGonagall contemplated this fact, “Louis is the eldest twin, perhaps his blood took all of the inheritance?”

“We need to get him to St. Mungo’s, and have him put into an isolated ward, just in case.” Madame Bones commented, preparing to wheel the bed towards the floo, first placing some papers and vials on the bed. They would be needed, to get him admitted. “Mrs. Weasley, please follow me.” The two women, plus the young man on the bed, were flooed to the wizarding hospital, after Madame Bones cried out, “St. Mungo’s!”

“Children, please return to class. After dinner come to my office, and you will all be informed on the health of the young Mr Weasley.” Professor McGonagall, with the help of Professor Longbottom, ushered out all the children. “No complaining now, don’t dilly-dally either. I know that this is worrying, but we know what is going on, so the Healers at St. Mungo’s will be able to heal him faster.”

“He’ll be on the mend now.” Neville told them, a small smile on his face, telling them not to panic. “Come on Potter, Weasley, you’re supposed to be in my class now, anyway.” He pushed Albus Potter in front of him, along with Rose Weasley, as both were supposed to be in his Herbology class at that very minute.

As people turned the corner, the small voice of Dominique called out to her older sister, “Victoire? Will Louis be okay?”

Before Victoire could speak, Teddy Lupin walked over, pulling the young girl into his arms, comforting her. “Of course, Louis’s going to be okay, Dom! You know him, he’s always alright, isn’t he? You Weasleys’ are always bouncing back, no matter what.”

Smiling thankfully at him, Victoire spoke, “Teddy’s right.” She pressed a kiss to her younger sister crown, before smoothing down her blonde hair, just like her mother did. “Besides, you heard the teachers, Louis is on the mend now. Everything will be back to normal before we know it!”

* * *

That summer had been difficult for the Weasley/Potter clan.

It went exactly how it usually did, with the children spending most of their time at Molly and Arthur Weasley’s (now empty) house, due to their parents working most of the time. The difference, though, was people had to be careful around Louis now. As with all young veelas, Louis was vastly over-protective of his family, his younger sisters’ especially. Often, at the beginning of summer, he was seen flying into a rage, and turning into his full-veela form, at the smallest thing – such as Dominique, his youngest sister, being accidentally pushed over by James. Even though he moved out of this phase, no longer being so temperamental after a few weeks adjusting to his inheritance, it wasn’t completely safe to be around Louis. Despite being one of the loveliest people to walk the Earth; a young, unmated veela (especially a male one, who has the need to protect those he loves) was always dangerous to affiliate with – at least until they mated.

Bill and Fleur had warned all family members, before Louis had finally finished his changing and returned from St. Mungo’s, that they had to be careful around him, that they had to look after him now. Also, she vaguely mentioned, not to be too ‘freaked out’ by his sudden change.

The veela-form was odd, they’d discovered during his first change. It was tall, taller than Hagrid, and had large, bird-like wings that extended from the top of his back, the very tips reaching his ankles. The wings were a vibrant, iridescent, purple-blue, and they were powerful enough to launch him into the air at vast speeds. Louis’s eyes changed colours too, in this form, from their normal colour, to ones that matched his wings, and were just as vibrant as them too. Other than those obvious changes, were the subtle ones – such as his incredible strength, his heightened senses, his newfound ability to know how people were feeling, and his ability to manipulate people using the typical veela appeal. The last had been used to achieve more of his grandmother’s pie one evening, and had meant he’d walked away with the entire dish – much to his mother’s anger.

By the end of that summer, though, Louis felt confident that he had complete control of himself. He was able control his shifts into the other form, and (with the help of his family) he’d conquered his abilities. He no longer accidentally crushed his cups, felt people’s emotions, or forced people to do his bidding. Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

September first came around faster than anyone would have liked. While every student did love Hogwarts, it was still school, and therefore they kind of hated it too.

Like every year, the entirety of the Weasley/Potter clan was stood on Platform 9¾, well those who could make it. George and Percy Weasley weren’t there, as the two were at Weasley Wizard Wheezes, working.

Percy had joined George after the war, helping out a little around the shop, and eventually stayed because he genuinely enjoyed the work. Generally, he was always doing the more clerical things, like the accounts and checking inventory, but every now and then he himself invented something interesting. The self-replenishing ink-well was his idea, as was the idea for other ink wells filled with wacky colours and glitter. Bless him, though, Percy tried his best.

As usual, the station was hustling with students and parents, it was as hectic as every year was. It was easy to determine who were new kids (as they tended to stare) and who weren’t. The same went for their parents. That didn’t matter to the Weasley/Potter clan, though – they’d been doing this for too long to get caught up in the looks and whispers that surrounded them.

“Louis, be careful this year!” Mrs Weasley (Molly the first) was beginning yet another speech on how Louis should be careful at Hogwarts, and not pull a ‘Harry Potter’ at school (as something bad always happened to him, although not usually his fault). “Do not start a fight with anyone, and watch your surroundings when you shift! Merlin knows those wings can take someone’s eye out…”

Just as she was about to continue her rant about how the Weasleys’ need to ‘calm down’, and ‘have a normal school experience’ – bang. Louis Weasley, the one closest to the wall they had all literally just come through, was violently knocked over by the small figure that landed on top of him, her dark hair spilling over his shoulders and getting in his face (and a little in his mouth too).

“Oh, I’m sorry!” The girl scrambled to get up, flailing slightly due to embarrassment, and accidentally kneeing the poor boy in his gut in her haste. “Oh, Merlin! I’m- I’m sorry, I was in such a rush, my mums went ahead with my cart, I thought I was going to be late! Ugh, I’m such a-” The girl had managed to get to her feet, and was now pulling Louis up onto his, desperate to right her small ‘wrong’. She’d just dragged him onto his feet, his grasping her arm to steady himself, when he’d locked eyes with her.

Suddenly, nothing else was visible to him, apart from her beautiful, shining eyes. Something inside Louis clicked into place, his new veela body singing at the sight of this girl’s face. Whilst she was shorter than him, she looked about his age, and vaguely Louis wondered if the two shared classes together… If so, he needed to be her partner for all of them. Her mouth was perfectly curved into a smile, and her dark eyes spoke of a future, their future – together.


	2. Selene Morgenstern

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an altered timeline.

Louis knew this was his soulmate, someone whom he felt a compulsion to be around. He felt the need to care for this person, like he did with the members of his family – but the need was stronger, if possible. He desperately wanted to love this girl, to be the person to help her when she needed, and be at her side as she went through life. Louis especially wanted to hold her hand, and press loving kisses to her lips…

“Again; very sorry for running into you!” The girl then hurried off, towards two middle aged females who were standing near a cart. Like others on the platform, the cart was topped by luggage, and a large grey owl, who was hooting away in a bronzed cage.

“Mate,” There was a pause, “What just happened?” Teddy Lupin was now trying to steady his ‘cousin’, as it honestly looked as if Louis was about to fall over. The younger boy was now being enclosed by his family, who were all concerned about the shortness of his breath, and the fact he seemed dazed. Meanwhile, he was trying to look around everyone’s heads, hoping to catch another glimpse of that girl.

His mother was pressing her hands to his reddened cheeks, “Ma cherie, are you feeling alright?” Fleur noticed his gaze was not on any of those trying to converse with him, but rather, it was focussed on a small family about five metres away. She looked intently at the small family, the girl was kissing the women on the cheeks, before getting onto the train. The Frenchwoman paused for a moment, as she realised what was occurring, before she let a large smile crowd her gorgeous face. “Ah!” Fleur exclaimed happily, effectively startling the others around her.

“Love?” Bill was now addressing his wife, noticing her attentions were now on the same family that Louis was looking at. “What’s going on?”

“’e ‘as found ‘is soulmate!”

Many of the family, who were understanding of the situation, let out surprised, but pleased, noises. To many on the platform, particularly those who didn’t know them, they just seemed like that dramatic family who over-dramatised every event in their lives – which they totally were.

Albus, however, was not one of these people, the ones who gasped. Instead he rolled his eyes at their actions. Sure, he was happy for his cousin, but there was honestly no reason to react so dramatically, in his opinion anyway. It was sort of obvious that Louis would have a ‘mate’, as all full veelas do. Why was it surprising it was someone his age, who went to the same school? And besides, he was pretty sure that they even shared some classes… if his vast knowledge was correct. “Well, as fun as this discovery was, we need to board, or we’ll miss the train.” His cool voice reminded him that he should probably find his friends…

His words jolted those of whom had to get on the train, out of their reveries. The children who were to board, began to hastily gather their luggage, pets, bags, etc.

“Bye mum, dad, love you!” Albus kissed his mother’s cheek, and hugged his dad briefly, before hopping onto the red train. He had to find Scorpius Malfoy, and Frankie Zabini, two of his Slytherin friends whom he hadn’t seen for most of the summer – due to their parents not being happy with their friendship to the son of the ‘saviour’.

After a few moments, all the rest of the clan followed in Albus’s footsteps, hugged their parents’ goodbye. There was a point where Rose nearly left her wand, which Hermione held onto until she ran back off the train for it. “Don’t forget to write!” Was shouted after them, as their mothers parroted the words they were told each year.

“Ma cherie,” Fleur pulled her eldest to the side momentarily, whilst there were a few minutes left before the train finally pulled out of the station, “Owl me ‘eef you need me!” Her tone was completely serious, and Louis found himself nodding at her, his face mimicking her seriousness. Despite their solemn tones, and faces, there was clear excitement shining in both of their eyes.

“I will mum, love you!”

Louis rushed off as soon as he could, he had to find her. He wasn’t even thinking about it, he was following what his body believed to be right. It was an easy process too, even with his twin sister clearly following behind him. He followed his gut to the very back of the train, somewhat relying on his veela-ness to help. Louis paused, his Gryffindor bravery failing him for a second, as he reached the last carriages.

Everyone knew that the Slytherins’ sat at the back of the Hogwarts express.

Victoire eventually caught up to him, having her suspicions as to what he was doing, but also being a lot slower than him physically, now that he’s a full veela. “Is she down here?” She asked him a bit hesitantly, as well as slightly breathy. She knew as well as he did, that this meant ‘his’ girl was most probably a Slytherin.

Even after all these years there’s a stigma about Slytherins’ – probably amplified due to what happened during the war. This was especially true about their family. The Potter-Weasley’s still weren’t too trusting of Slytherins.

When Albus was sorted into Slytherin, there seemed to be an immediate change in him.

Many in his family saw it negatively, saw it as him becoming ‘evil’. Rather, it was merely him absorbing the personalities of his friends, to further expand his own. All children did it when they reached their teens, as that’s how kids began to form who they are during these years. Unfortunately, most Slytherin purebloods are taught from a young age, to not be conceived as weak – this usually culminates in the slightly unemotional personalities, or cold exteriors, that the rest of the wizarding world sees.

Obviously, the energetic, emotional personalities of the Weasley-Potter clan clashed heavily with the cooler, less dramatic personality of Albus after this process.

The pair were walking down the train hallway slowly, when Louis suddenly stopped, causing Victoire to bump into his back. “She’s in here.” The second-to-last carriage held the girl who was Louis perfect match, he could both sense her, and smell her – the scent of her skin was tropical. Mangoes and coconuts. Louis assumed this was due to a body wash or soap, and shamefully, it led to him wondering slightly inappropriate thoughts about her. He wondered…

“What are you two doing?” Albus and his friends had managed to sneak up on the older twins, whilst the younger was waiting on the elder to stop daydreaming. Scorpius Malfoy and Frankie Zabini stood either side of the young dark haired Potter, both looking at them confused. Most of the members of the Weasley family avoided Slytherins, as old grudges are hard to abandon they’d found, so they were confused by their presence down the ‘Slytherin’ end of the train.

Victoire smiled slightly, low-key adoring her cousin and his friends. They looked cute to her, trying to seem tougher and meaner than they truly were. It vaguely reminded her of when she and her cousins played pretend, as young children. “His ‘soulmate’ is in there.” She gestured with her thumb behind her shoulder, to the carriage door that was shut, glass obscured by the ugly curtains that matched the ugly fabric of the train seats.

Louis was staring at the closed door, as he began to realise what Victoire said was true. His perfect match was in there, and he had no idea what he should say to her…

Victoire continued, as if her brother’s internal battle wasn’t happening, “Do you know who she is, Albus?”

That jolted Louis out of his state. He whipped around to look at his younger cousin in awe, the possibility of learning more about this girl too much for him. “You know her?”

“The girl who knocked you over, your ‘soulmate’,” Albus put quotation marks around the word, making it seem as if he didn’t believe, but really, he was just teasing, “Her name is Selene Morgenstern.”

“Selene… Morgenstern.” Louis repeated the name, loving the way it sounded on his lips. It was an elegant name, too. He found himself wondering if she was pure-blooded. Obviously, it didn’t matter to his ‘blood-traitor’ family, or to him, if she was. “Selene…”

Victoire stared at her brother, who was began mouthing the words silently. “Are you okay?” She questioned him, looking at him like he was crazy. Honestly, ever since he transformed, he’s been weird – not that he wasn’t odd before the changing. The two twins were very close, and they’d always gotten along, but Louis was always more of an oddity, compared to her. After a moment, he stopped mouthing the name and just stared at the compartment door. “Louis, are you going in?” He was loitering and several people passing by had begun to look at him, but he wasn’t paying attention to anything but the door.

“Yes!”

Louis’s exclamation was louder than necessary, and caught the attention of those inside the compartment. “Hello?”

The door had opened to reveal several sets of eyes, but the only one of note, according to Louis’s brain, was Selene’s. They stood out vividly to him. Louis was still stood in the same place he was before the door opened, meaning he was now stood very close to Selene. Closer than he felt was necessary, so he forced himself a step back. He didn’t want to make he feel uncomfortable! Hopefully, later in their relationship (he hoped), he’d get to be as close to her, as his biology was begging him to be.

“Oh, it’s you!”

“Who is it, Sel?”

“Yeah, Sellie, tell us who the gentleman caller is!” The two females behind Selene, who looked closely related (Victoire noticed, Louis was busy trying to not be too obvious in his staring), had teasing tones to their voices. To those that had known them, these girls would have reminded anyone of a young Fred and George Weasley (unfortunately, none of these children had known them both, together). Their nicknames for the girl were obviously mocking, as the female in question gave them faux-glares in return.

Another head popped up behind the girls, a male who had his own teasing tone, “Miss Selene, the nerve of it all! You have gentleman callers coming to you, immediately after you tell us you weren’t seeing someone!” His joking was dramatic, like many people Louis knew, “The betrayal, the lies! Where will it end?” He put his hand to his forehead, and clutched one of the siblings to his chest (with said sibling pretending to cry).

“Oh, sod off, Boot!” Selene called back to her dramatic friends, before turning back to those at the door. She smiled when she noticed the sweet, dazed, look on the boy’s face. “Can we help you?” The question was left open, but her eyes did not leave the sharp angles of Louis’s face.

There wasn’t a response from him, though, or any of the children behind him. After a moment, Louis was prompted by his sister’s elbow digging into his side, “Hi.”

Behind him, Albus let out a silent groan, leaning into Scorpius’s shoulder to hide his face from viewing the wreckage in front of him. Frankie and Scorpius both hid their small smirks behind their hands. The Weasley’s were too funny.

Victoire wasn’t mute with her second-hand embarrassment, “Oh Merlin, Louis!” She pushed his back, moving him slightly out of her way, “Hi, I’m Victoire Weasley, this is Scorpius Malfoy, Frankie Zabini, and my cousin, Albus Potter.” The blonde gestured to those slightly behind her, then her cousin in front of her, “And this is my brother, Louis.”

Selene nodded, already knowing this – they were descendants of the most famous people in the wizarding world, and several people from her Hogwarts house. “We know.” There was an awkward silence, that no-one filled, so, “Can we help you, then?”

For a moment, Louis was filled with an odd desperation he’d never felt before. “I wanted to apologise! For earlier…” He looked away from her face, trying to grasp onto any semblance of sanity, after his outburst. Louis felt like his brain wasn’t working, or rather; it was working at nearly ten-percent of its usual capacity. “I shouldn’t have been standing in your way. I wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt, that’s all!”

Selene Morgenstern wasn’t naïve, she knew the incident had been her entire fault. She’d been rushing, and barely managed to stutter out her apology, before she ran off. Her parents had teased her when she reached them, as running into the ‘saviours’ family wasn’t acceptable behaviour for a Morgenstern to have, but also not caring too much either. Louis, at that moment, reminded her of a young boy, talking to someone he admired greatly. He was nervous, avoiding eye-contact, and had trouble speaking to her. Plus, he’d come with back-up. So, Louis Weasley either fancied her, or he possibly arrived at her compartment to start a fight. The first was more likely.

“I’m fine.” Selene was quick to answer, if only to shorten this awkward meeting between the sweet blonde boy, and their voyeur friends. “You don’t have to worry about me, I’m not a fragile person!” The Morgenstern heir knew this wasn’t exactly true, as she was easily emotionally manipulated – but those ‘adopt-a-panda’ adverts were sad!

“Oh, okay!” Louis answered, looking both relieved that he hadn’t hurt his soulmate, and slightly sad that he didn’t really have a reason to stand there talking to her, now. “I-I guess I’ll see you around, then…” He trailed off, his eyes questioning whether what he said was the truth. Would he see her again?

Albus barely controlled himself from shouting; ‘of course you will, you daft hippogriff!’. They were a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, in the same year! They shared so many classes, due to their teachers attempts to create ‘unity’. Albus kept it to himself, though, for now.

“Y-Yeah, I guess you will.” Only Selene’s close friends caught her slip, and all three looked at each other with glee. After all, the strong Slytherin only really stuttered when she was nervous… and why would Selene Morgenstern be nervous at the mere thought of seeing Louis Weasley, in the future? Hmm…


	3. Friendly Wager

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an altered timeline.

Louis was quiet for the rest of the journey to Hogwarts, very much lost within his own mind. To the others in the compartment, his crazy and lively family, he might’ve looked sad or despondent. Rather, Louis was experiencing something very new, and quite strange for him.

He felt an odd heat, which felt strong, but not uncomfortable. The felt like it was trying to force its way from below his skin, and for a moment he was worried his twin, who sat next to him, could feel it. Beneath the heat, he felt a sort of sublime happiness, which also was trying to eject itself from every facet of him. Louis suspected these odd symptoms, were his veela side clearly wanting nothing more than to burst out from its cage. He could almost picture his transformed body spreading its amazing wings and soaring through the sky, due to complete happiness he felt from meeting his mate face-to-face. It was quite difficult for him to contain, really.

In leu of doing this, or joining in with his family’s banter (which sort of bored him), Louis instead spent the afternoon observing the English countryside blend into the Scottish Highlands. It was a peaceful affair, and after an hour or two, he was too focussed on the scenery, and his struggle to contain himself almost faded away. Eventually, though, the lush greenery was no longer visible to Louis, as the skies above had darkened considerably by evening. It always got darker earlier, the closer you were to winter – it felt like a fair exchange for the long sunlit hours of summer though.

Sooner or later, James Potter (the mischievous person he was) suggested to his cousins (Roxane and Fred in particular), that they make a bet for later that night. “The feasts’ are always really boring, so, I say we make a bet on how many first years we’ll get this year!” All three were in the same house, which was why the young teen thought only of that house.

However, Roxanne wasn’t interested unless the stakes were high, “Jamie, what are the consequences of said bet?” After all, their bet from the previous year’s first feast, which resulted in James going starkers to a Quidditch game he wasn’t playing in, was famous.

Fred nodded in agreement with his twin, the reminiscent grin on his face telling everyone he was thinking of the prior year. “Yeah, James, you gonna’ go ‘au natural’ again?”

From besides Louis, Victoire snickered, “Betting on little eleven year olds? That’s very predictable, guys.” It wasn’t like there was much to be interested in, anyway. Every time, there was usually around twelve students admitted into each house, per year – there was the odd year, where one house would get more students than usual, but generally fifteen or so was the limit.

The younger girl, Roxanne, nodded her head, “She’s not wrong, boys.” She paused, having a quick think, before she smirked, “Maybe we should bet on how long ‘lover-boy’ over here,” Gesturing to the ‘absent’ Louis with her thumb, “Will take to win over his ‘Slytherin love’.”

James’s face burst into a grin, always keen to embarrass a family member every now and then, “Yeah!” Louis barely glanced at them, not very interested in their little bet, “I say we do it!”

Rose, who was younger than the others in the compartment, offered her assistance, hoping to get ahead of them gang, and not become negatively involved in their bet. “I’ll keep track, if you want!” It was better to do this, than truly get involved and possibly lose, because the consequences were usually quite awful. The first and last bet she made with them, she ended up working four Saturday detentions, due to some super glue, a glitter charm, and a very annoyed teacher.

“Alright, Rose!” Freddy cheered his cousin, praising her ‘selfless’ act, not quite realising her reasoning. “Go ahead, and write this down…” The boy continued on, rambling about ‘consequences’ (they decided on a monetary bet, this time, but there was a ‘backing-out’ clause) and how guesses were going to be determined right, etc. In the end, Roxanne believed Louis would win over Selene before the end of their sixth year, whereas Freddy believing it would happen before Louis’ next birthday (which wasn’t too long before school ended), and James was adamant it would all happen before Christmas (a bold choice). Victoire refused to be a part of the bet, at least at that point (she’d probably join in, when the subject of the bet wasn’t right next to her), and other members of their family and friends were yet to be informed of the pool. “Oh, and every person involved pays two galleons, which will be the winnings!” Freddy then went quiet, pondering if there was anything else that should be stipulated, “I think that’s it.”

Rose, who’d been writing this all down, dutifully noting every guess, as well as the rules, nodded. “Here,” She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small coin purse, “I’ll put the winnings in here. My mum charmed it against thievery, and it’s incapable of being lost, so it’s safe.” Quickly, she gathered the six galleons from the first three people who’d made bets.

Throughout the entire exchange, Louis focussed on controlling his veela form, as he no longer had the scenery. It was beginning to get harder to control, though, as Louis could see the small platform coming up, telling him that their journey was nearly concluded. Soon, he’d see Selene again!

With a jerk, the train pulled into the small station in Hogsmeade, and Victoire pushed her twin’s shoulder excitedly. “We’re here!” The various members of the Weasley-Potter clan stumbled off the locomotive, all wearing their robes and specific house colours, with James falling off it, due to a dead-leg he’d gained. “You alright, James?” Victoire completely failed at sounding worried, as she was forced to hide her giggles behind her hand.

The younger boy grumbled out a few choice words, which his mother would have given him a stern look for. “Whatever.” His scoff of indifference was betrayed by his scarlet blush, “Let’s just get to the threstrals.” Lucy, who’d just walked over to them from hanging with her Ravenclaw friends, and Rose giggled at his embarrassed behaviour.

The small group marched their way from beside the scarlet train, quickly joining the long line of students, who were waiting to hop into a carriage. “Hey!” Albus appeared suddenly, almost as if out of thin air, making his brother jump slightly. “Do you mind if Frankie, Scorpius and I share a carriage with someone? We don’t have enough for our own.” He stood next to James, his two friends behind him.

Immediately after the question left Albus’ mouth, Lucy piped up, “You can join Rose and I!” It was easy to tell she liked one of them; her blush wasn’t subtle, and neither were her glances towards Frankie. No one mentioned it, but Frankie did smile back at the girl, who flushed an even darker red.

Finally, the group was at the front of the line, and they all began to clamber into a carriage. Ultimately, the small group had to take two as the addition of the Slytherins’ were too many for one.

Just as his hand touched the handle of the wooden carriage, Louis paused. He could feel that someone was looking at him. The sixth year turned a fraction of an inch, looking to his right and easily spotting the eyes of his soulmate. Selene’s eyes seemed to glow in the low light of the platform, sending a wave of emotion through him, which he wasn’t sure he was totally ready for. Louis wanted nothing more than to be with her, to hold her hand, and kiss her skin… but alas, it was far too soon for any of that. The two teenagers were still quite young, not even yet sixteen (well, at least Louis wasn’t), and barely knew each other. Acknowledging this, the blonde turned away, getting into the carriage where his family was waiting for him. All the while, Louis thought of the pure emotion that had been behind Selene’s eyes, which included apprehension and nervousness, which had definitely been mirrored in his.

* * *

The welcoming feast was long and tedious, filled with good food and conversation, but every student was happy when it finally finished. People were too tired to stay long after everyone was dismissed, but Louis did manage to glance towards the Slytherin table during, and had watched Selene dining with her friends for a few moments.

The next morning, the Gryffindor house was a flurry of students rushing down to the Great Hall, all eager to make sure their first day wasn’t started off on the wrong foot. A few hours after breakfast, James Potter was rushing down to the dungeons from the third floor, hoping to make it in time for Potions. He’d been busy setting up a prank he’d concocted the night before, and had lost track of the time. On his way there, the fourth year slammed into a taller body, who’d been walking in the opposite direction. The opposing body fell to the floor, with a loud grunting, “Oompf!” Said body’s bag fell with them, scattering various books and quills about the place.

“I’m sorry!” James nearly squeaked out, as he began franticly gathering the person’s possessions, haphazardly piling them together. He glanced at his watch, noting that he was already three minutes late for class. “I’m running late, I’m so sorry, but I have to go!” The young boy ran off, leaving the piled books and quills next to the student, who’d begun to sit up at this point. One last “Sorry!” was shouted.

The Gryffindor was off again, and was turning the corner, before the person one the floor could utter their own apologies. “It’s okay- and, he’s gone.” The body, which was clad in the Slytherin house colours, was that of Selene Morgenstern, who’d been leaving the Slytherin Common Room only moments before. She had been about to make her way up to the library, eager to spend her first ‘free’ session reading and sorting through some of the syllabuses she’d already gotten that day. Instead, the young woman was pouting slightly, as she rubbed her sore side, “Ouch.” She was convinced the area was going to bruise, marking where the eldest Potter child had run into her. Selene sighed, before she eventually got to her knees, ready to get up off the cold dungeon’s stone floors.

As she was standing, the Slytherin sixth year felt someone’s hand press to her back. While this normally would have sent off alarm bells, in her mine, Selene didn’t feel scared by the hand touching her (even without her permission). “Are you alright?” The person’s voice, coupled with their warm hand, sent a shiver of exhilaration down her spine. The action embarrassed her to the core, as it was completely out of character for her.

“I’m fine, Mr Weasley. Thank you for asking.” Selene quipped, easily using her sense of propriety to try and take away some of her mortification. With the help of Louis’ hand, she stood up completely, her bag once again in her hands. “Thank you, again.” Finally (finally! Louis’ mind cheered), Selene looked up to him, locking her eyes with his. Another shiver went down her spine, only this one was due to the sheer intensity she saw in the blue orbs looking back at her. A soft blush settled on her cheeks, the Slytherin girl began to feel slightly awkward with the clear admiration displayed in his eyes.

Louis, sensing her unease at his obvious feelings, took a physical step back from her, trying to convey that he wasn’t meaning to overwhelm her. When she sent him a small smile, he believed his action to have been the right course. Gathering his strength, he asked if she had a ‘free’ session that block, and smiling when she informed him that she did. Louis cleared his throat, before he asked, “M-Maybe, we could spend it in the library? Together?” He suddenly could not meet her eyes, afraid she would think he was being too forward. “Don’t feel like you have to!” Louis’ heart was already racing at his own words, as well as the fact he began picturing the two of them, getting cosy in the library… with books scattered everywhere… their eyes meeting over their parchment paper… He shook himself from those thoughts, reminding himself that he was trying to make Selene comfortable in his presence, not wanting to overwhelm her.

Whilst he was thinking all of that, Selene was considering how Louis’ actions once again reminded her of a young boy. “I’ll go with you.” Selene decided, smiling at him, seeming as if she was no longer uneasy about his company.

The moment her agreement left her lips, Louis began to panic. What would they talk about? The library may require silence, but the walk there did not! It was only the first day of classes, too, so he didn’t have a reservoir of banter held back, ready for this moment. He knew nothing about her, what she enjoyed, nor what she disliked… Louis supposed now was as good a time, as any, to find out these things… but still…

The two sixth years walked towards the large library, which was located several floors above their current position. As they walked, Louis began to ask a few basic questions – restraining himself from the dozens of probing, intellectual ones that stirred in his mind, at that moment. His goal was to find stuff out about her, but also to continue to make her feel at ease with his presence. One of his goals in life, was to make his ‘mate’ happy, after all.

Louis started off with the basic ‘family-friend-asking-you-about-school’ question, “So, uh, w-what’s your favourite subject?”

“I really like Care of Magical Creatures, I find it really interesting.” Selene would never admit that she wasn’t this honest with other people she’d just met, “What about you?”

“I used to be into Transfiguration, but not so much, anymore.” It was ironic to him, that he’d enjoyed transfigurations so much before his change. “Uh, where did you grow up?”

“Not too far from Diagon Alley, in a small wizarding community there. It’s a pretty quiet place, actually. What about you, Louis?”

His mind seemed to freeze, every part of him having enjoyed the way Selene’s mouth had just formed his name. He shook himself from that, “My parents own cottage, which is basically on a beach. So, me and my siblings grew up there… but, I, uh, most of my cousins and I spend our time at the Burrow. Especially during the summer.” The two wandered up the moving stairs, narrowly avoiding being sent to the astronomy tower when the staircase suddenly flung itself to the right.

“The ‘Burrow’?” Selene glanced at him, with a bit of confusion in her eyes. Overall, she was enjoying this. Something within her, loved the idea of getting to know Louis Weasley. She accredited it to the fact she found him very attractive. “What’s that?”

Louis looked at her for a moment, “It’s, uh, my grandparents’ house. It’s sort of like the Weasley-headquarters.” He let out an awkward chuckle, for once in his life feeling slightly self-conscious of his upbringing. His family, apart from the Potters’ and his Uncle George, were not incredibly rich. Mostly they were hard-working, comfortably-living, people. However, this small feeling of awkwardness was easily thrown out the window when Selene smiled at him, quite excitedly.

“I wish I had a family like that.” At Louis’ raised eyebrow, she went on, “It’s just me and my mums’.” Louis looked confused, “My birth mother, and her wife. They’re lesbians.”

“Oh,” Louis was interested in this fact, as it was a fascinating part of her life he was learning about, “That’s kind of’ cool!”

Selene laughed, shaking her head, “Yeah, it’s not bad.” She was going to continue their conversation, asking more about his family in return, but noticed they were at the library doors already. Instead, she offered up the chance to talk again, another time, “Hey, I enjoyed this, the conversation…” Selene started off, feeling like she may be going out on a limb here, “We should do it again.”

Louis nodded immediately, “Maybe we can, uh, walk to the library together again, next week?” He wondered if he was coming off too eager, and he was suddenly felt just as awkward as he did before. Trying to fake some confidence, he said, “Uh, if you want… it’s okay, if you don’t… I understand you might like your peace and quiet, your alone time-”

She cut him off, a small smirk on her face as she did so, “I’d like that, Louis.” Immediately, his face lit up like a Christmas tree, making her feel a trill of happiness flow through her body. He wanted to spend time with her… Selene bit the edge of her lip, trying to subdue the grin that was threatening to emerge. To avoid such embarrassment, she nudged her head towards the library, “So, are we going in?”


	4. Getting To Know You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an altered timeline.

Selene had seen Louis around Hogwarts before, after all she had eyes and he was a somewhat famous person – impossible to miss, really. Plus, they’d had many classes together over the years, so she knew him from a distance, at the very least. Across a classroom (about 10 feet) was enough for her to be able to ‘put a name to that face’, and that had been fine with Selene for years! Except, deep down, the smart Slytherin knew that such a distance between herself and Louis was no longer acceptable to her. She just wasn’t sure why…

Since the first day of sixth year, and her run-in with Louis on Platform 9¾, the young woman wanted to get to know him. Simply being acquainted (which they’d become the day classes had begun) wasn’t enough anymore. Selene wanted to understand the blonde Gryffindor, and she had no idea why.

To begin with; she had denied this very odd desire, casting it to the back of her mind. She simply found him attractive (which he was, and she did). But, this inclination to get to know him grew into a weird longing for his presence near her – almost as if she was at her calmest around him. Selene threw this thought into the rubbish bin though, as she was a very clever girl and would surely never descend into such silliness about a boy!

However, before she knew what was even happening, the two of them walking to the library together turned into spending their free hours by each other’s side. Sometimes, the teens talked for entire afternoons (quietly, as to not be kicked out by the vicious librarian). These experiences, which she enjoyed every single second of, evolved into the two walking to their shared classes together, and spending ‘after-school’ back in that library, chatting yet again. As much as she tried, she couldn’t not want to spend time around Louis; she thought he was a wonderful person.

During the month or two this was all occurring, Louis was trying his absolute best at trying to act as casual, and as friendly, as he possibly could. The veela knew he was falling in love, and quickly too, but as a 15-year-old who’d never felt such intense emotions before – well, he was terrified. Not only at the prospect of being in love for the first time, or at the idea of being with one person forever, but also at the mere thought he might accidentally back Selene into an uncomfortable corner, forcing her into something she didn’t truly want. So, Louis spent a lot of time acting as if his day wasn’t made brighter at the sheer sight of her smile – he wasn’t always successful though, as he’s definitely not that great of an actor.

Closer to Halloween; it was yet another after-school-library-study-session. The sixth years were huddled at a giant wooden table, completely surrounded by various papers and books. Out of no-where, “Do you think that Morgana loved Merlin?” For once, their History of Magic class was not studying a 200-year-old goblin war. Instead, they were (in depth) discussing the ‘founder’ of modern magic; Merlin. Many of the surrounding textbooks were related to the Arthurian wizard, some were even written by him too. The two were researching, and contemplating, the myths and facts of Merlin’s life, for the lengthy essay that was due the following week. Selene, a closet romantic at heart, wasn’t too sure about the great wizard being murdered by his lover, Morgana La Fey, however. “If she loved him, would she really have killed him? That seems a bit dramatic, if you ask me.”

Louis considered her words, pausing his own writing as he did so. Quickly, he exposed a flaw in her thought process, “It’s only assumed that it’s a mutual thing.” The table between them held large biographical book, written hundreds of years prior, which held a paragraph he pointed to. It was a direct extract from one of Merlin’s many journals, “He talks frequently about loving her, but it’s unclear if she felt the same way about him.”

Selene hummed in intrigue, “What page is that on?”

“197.”

Quickly, she noted down said page number, as well as his observation. It was a valid point, and Selene did not want to forget it. Her eyes locked onto the book Louis was reading from, and she jotted down the name and volume of it on her notes. For a moment, Selene’s tired eyes watched Louis’ hands move, but she swiftly snapped herself out of that. Instead of any odd behaviour on her part, which she was determined not to put on display, she decided to playfully tease him – which was the true Slytherin way, after all. “You know, you might be accusing the ‘Great Merlin’ of being a creepy stalker, who couldn’t understand that Morgana was not interested in him.” Louis snorted, shaking his head and smiling softly at her words. Selene felt a smirk edge its way onto her lips when she spotted his lightly pinked cheeks. Deep inside her, she enjoyed being the one to make him blush. “So, do you think all that Camelot-knight-stuff was real, then?”

The blonde across from her shrugged, glancing at Selene with an amused look. “Probably not.”

Selene shrugged as well and flipped through her notes, checking she’d gotten what she needed. She hummed again, “Could be based off some truth? Like other myths…” Tilting her head at some unintelligible words she’d written earlier, she went on, “Perhaps he helped a random man called Arthur, they fought a dragon or two, and everything just spiralled from that. Wouldn’t be the first time.” Truly considering her own words, Selene wrote down a few questions that also came to mind. She’d ask Professor Binns (the notoriously dull ghost who taught History of Magic) or some other teacher (probably Headmistress McGonagall) tomorrow. Or, prowl through the mountain of books on the table, desperately searching for any answers… She decided to ask questions first, and prowl for answers later.

“Anything is possible.” Louis mumbled out, as he once again became distracted by his own writings. He absentmindedly switched from his notes to the accompanying essay that was due for the class.

The teens descended into a comfortable quiet, with each of them working on their respective parchments. All that could be heard was hushed conversations from the other students around them. Twenty minutes passed by quickly like this. Selene dotted her last ‘i’, finishing off a Potions essay she’d begun earlier – something on the properties of dragon’s blood. Flicking her eyes up, she looked at Louis, taking the chance to observed him properly. He was leant over the table, his tall frame trying to get closer to his parchment as he wrote. His head was leaning against his giant palm, casually watching his quill as he copied a passage from the book. Shamelessly, Selene found herself admiring the sharpness of his jaw, and the very subtle different shades of blonde that lay within his hair…

Louis knew she was staring at him. He could feel her keen eyes on him, (always) hyper-aware of Selene and her gaze trailing over his form. It sent a chill down his spine, as he got such attention from his mate. He wondered… Purposely, Louis bit his lip, nibbling at the very edge of it, and he let his hand caress his jaw as he did so. If anyone were to ask, he would be perfectly honest in the fact he was one-hundred-percent putting on a show for her, and that his veela side was preening at the thought she found him attractive.

He was her soulmate, after all. She should be attracted to him, right? Louis could ask someone, but decided he wasn’t going to, as his mother was truly the only person he could ask – and he was not going to do that to himself.

Too engrossed in putting on a weird, preening show for Selene, Louis very nearly missed the sounds of scuffling that emitted from behind a looming bookcase, just to his left. It was accompanied by loud mutterings… which were talking about him?

“Oh Merlin! He is so fit!”

“I know, right? My sister said she was going to try to get him to go to Hogsmeade with her next week!”

“As if he would, he’s way too gorg’ for her! He’s practically a god!”

“Hey!”

Other whispers, which were more like muffled arguments, were heard. Louis found himself trying to subdue his reddening cheeks, but failing miserably. “Tabby, do you think he’s dating that Slytherin?” Louis felt thoroughly mortified that others had noticed his attempts at wooing Selene Morgenstern.

“No way, he’s way out of her league! Louis Weasley is a sex-god!” Louis bloody well disagreed, thank you very much! If anything, Selene was the one out of his league!

A scoff was heard, this one sounding like it was from a male, “You’re just saying ‘no’, because you’re jealous!”

“Um, not true!”

More words were said, seeming to get louder when each one was uttered. Too busy listening to the younger students argue over his love-life, Louis nearly missed Selene’s hand waving in front of his face, “Louis?”

“Huh,” His eyes quickly re-focussed on her stunning face, “What?” Louis clearly hadn’t heard what she’d said, and it was obvious she was amused by this.

“Are listening to the little second-years, Louis?” Selene murmured, leaning closer to him, acting as if what she was saying was secretive. “Spying on them, Weasley? Are you hearing anything interesting?” She wriggled her brows humorously, totally at ease teasing him – which he believed was an accurate assessment on his behalf; he knew that many Slytherins’ loved to mock others (be it jokingly or not).

Louis truly believed there was no way for his face to heat even more, it had to be at peak redness by now! “Huh, what? Me? I-I’m not spying!” He spluttered out, awkwardly placing his arms on the table’s top, in a failed effort to look as blasé as he could. He tried to think fast, not wanting her to think of him as being nosy, “I, uh, I can’t even hear what they’re saying!”

“Really?” Selene asked, the shock projected onto her face was obviously fake, “That’s very odd, considering I can hear them perfectly well. They’re being quite loud, you know.”

As if to further her point, one of the nearby pre-teens practically hollered out, “Just look how he looks at her, Janine!”. It certainly proved Selene’s argument, as well as thoroughly flustering Louis. (“It’s clearly love, Tabitha!”, was belted out, quickly followed by a shrill, “Get out of the library, you loud-mouthed hooligans!”. Louis vaguely wondered why Headmistress McGonagall was in the library, this late in the afternoon.)

Selene’s amused grin couldn’t get any larger, even if she truly tried.

Trying to down-play the ‘slight’ embarrassment he felt, Louis let out a single cough, but somehow managed to nearly choke on his own spit. Selene watched all this happen with wide-eyed amusement, as he attempted to clear his throat. A few moments later, he managed to get a hold of himself, “Wow, is that the time? We should probably pack up! We, uh, don’t want to be late!”

Chuckling, she answered him, “Sure thing, Weasley.” Selene slowly packed her parchments and books away, often sending playful smiles to her study-partner, whose cheeks may never one day return to their natural colour.

* * *

The students of Hogwarts had officially gotten back into the swing of school-life. People were once again finishing their homework and assignments in the Great Hall during breakfast, after their friends had interrupted a gossip-session on Jared from Transfiguration, to ask if they’d completed the Potions’ essay due later.

On this particular day, any and all talk at the Gryffindor table between the Potter/Weasleys and their friends came to a halt when Albus Potter sauntered his way over to the table. He’d made his path from the Slytherin’s table, having not even eaten yet, to chat to his older sibling and their cousins. Every person who sat at the table, turned to look at him, confused as to why he’d approach the ‘enemy house’ so early in the morning. Well, apart from Louis Weasley, who was too busy double-checking his Potions’ essay. He’d had a dream the night before, where he’d not actually finished it off, and had embarrassingly woken in a sweat at such a prospect – Tyler Finnegan had laughed their arse off that morning, but had confessed after that they’d had a similar dream the week before.

Albus straddled the bench beside his brother, “So, did you guys know about some new club that’s starting up?” His words were drawled out through smirking lips, as he leaned over his brother’s shoulder to stare at the only cousin not paying attention. Louis, meanwhile, was considering re-writing his essay’s conclusion, thinking it was getting a little too monotonous towards the end.

Confused, yet intrigued by his brother’s words, James questioned him, “What club?” He watched as Albus continued his stare-down of Louis’ forehead, and glanced at him too. “What is it? A duelling club or something?”

Roxanne and Fred both scoffed dramatically (which was generally their way), already having heard a little about the subject matter from some friends the night before. Fred feigned incredulity, “What? James? You don’t know?”

Opposite Fred, Roxanne joined in on her brother’s teasing, “Surely, you should know about the club dedicated to our own cousin!” James let out a short bark of laughter, beyond shocked at what they were suggesting. After a minute, it clicked fully in his mind, and he jerked his head in Louis’ direction again. He glanced back at the others, and after receiving several nods of agreement, he smacked the cousin-in-question’s arm, catching his attention.

“What are you guys talking about?” Louis tilted his head, to some he was looking quite adorable as he did so. Molly, who sat opposite him gave him a blank look, wondering how he was oblivious to so many things (the hordes of teens and pre-teens gazing at him lovingly from all corners of the Great Hall being one of said things). “What?”

James shook his head, too amazed by this ridiculousness by this point. After everything that had occurred to him already that school year, keeping in mind that it wasn’t even Halloween yet; the fact that Louis didn’t come to expect odd goings on in his life was possibly the weirdest part about him.

Albus clarified the topic they’d been discussing, “Oh, we were just talking about the formation of the ‘Louis Weasley Fan-Club’. Have you not heard of it?” His phrasing sent James into hysterical laughter with Fred, the later of the two even had tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. Sometimes they truly worried about their family!

“What?!” Louis’ outlandish reaction sent the other Weasley/Potters into their own bursts of laughter, all truly blessed by their cousin’s hilarious misfortune. Despite it all, they’d be pretty bored without it!

Over at the Ravenclaw table, Victoire had heard of the plight her twin was, and had walked over to her hyena-like family members sat the Gryffindor table, to get the full story. “Louis, since when did you get a fan-club?” Her words sent Roxanne over the edge, and she was now firmly grasping her own twin’s arm in effort to stay seated on the bench. “What?”

Louis, who’s theme of his sixth year seemed to be embarrassment and mortification, tried his best to escape the situation. He shoved his essay and quill into his bag, along with a slice of toast that he didn’t realise was also there, and practically sprinted from the Hall, red-faced. Louis was still unaware of the hundreds of fond eyes watching him, but he did feel a slight tingle when Selene’s eyes grazed over his departing body… so there was that.


	5. Selene's Got A Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an altered timeline.

Selene has never been fussy when it comes to dating – for her, (so long as the person expressed an interest, didn’t seem oddly clingy, or overly possessive) anyone was game. So, when the attractive Mari Singh (of Ravenclaw house) asked her out… well, she said yes.

Mari and Selene had been ‘classroom friends’ for years, so she had supposed it wouldn’t be too uncomfortable. Their rapport was friendly enough, and Mari was an attractive girl, so there was no real reason to say no.

Plus, Selene happened to know that she was the first girl that Mari had asked out since her coming out over the summer. Selene felt that she had a sort of duty to treat Mari to a wonderful time, setting a good example of what Mari should look for in a partner, should she choose to date again. Too many people let themselves be in bad circumstances, simply because it’s all they knew, and Selene wouldn’t let Mari’s kind soul be one of those. Selene wished she’d had a person do the same for her, when she was younger. It would have saved her a lot of broken hearts.

In the end, the two girls arranged it for their date to be the first Hogsmeade trip, which was on the last day of the month. The two of them were going to end up spending their entire time there making awkward but friendly conversation, and drinking butterbeers – there was never much to do in Hogsmeade, after all.

If anyone was asked to go off and experience Hogsmeade, they’d come back and say that it felt as if the village had been unchanged for hundreds of years. Contradicting that analysis was the known fact that many of the buildings were only two decades old, as some of them had to be repaired after the war. And, the war memorials and plaques in the middle of the village were only a few years old themselves.

Despite the newer builds, the town was one of the oldest magic-only communities in the United Kingdom – there were much older communities in remote areas of South America, Asia, and in concealed tribes all throughout Africa, though. There wasn’t much to the small town, just a joke shop, a sweet store, a few small trinket shops, a pub or two – basically; nothing much for the teens whose only chance at an off-campus activity was a monthly trip there.

So, yeah, dating at Hogwarts was kind of the worst.

* * *

Louis didn’t find out about the date, until what he would consider the last minute.

On the eve of Halloween (a Friday that was surprisingly mild for the season), Selene and Louis found themselves once again at their usual haunt – a large, wooden table located in the back of the ginormous hall that was the library.

Said teens were staring intensely at the parchments clasped in their respective hands. Louis’s happened to be a letter from his mother, a long winded one that was reminding him to try and ‘stretch’ in his veela form weekly – the fact that she went on to describe how it may feel similar to a female’s period was why he was contemplating an attempt at trying to burn it with his gaze. Selene’s parchment held the notes that she’d taken down in Charms earlier that day – at that moment, they weren’t making any sense to her.

“Louis? This new Charms stuff, I don’t get it. Help me out over here?” Selene’s interruption was received warmly by Louis, as Fleur Weasley (nee Delacour) had, in her lengthy letter, began to describe the severity of her monthly flow to her teenaged son.

“Go ahead.” Louis eagerly ditched his parchment to the side, one-hundred-percent ready to never read it, ever again. “Was it the wandless stuff we started this week? On Tuesday?”

Selene sent him a confirming nod, going into her dilemma, “If I’m casting a charm like ‘protego totalum’, how am I supposed to control what I’m casting it on? It’s, uh, pretty important that it’s cast on the right thing.”

Louis was momentarily distracted by the way her brows furrowed together in obvious confusion, sending his mind spiralling. By the time he managed to force his stupid veela brain to focus, he realised that he had succeeded in the task of being weirdly silent for close to a minute. If there was a wizard-god, then Louis prayed to them that Selene would just think he was seriously contemplating her question and coming to a slow conclusion. “I guess it could be one of those charms that are always going to require a wand. Or, you can just think super hard while casting.” Louis let out a breathy chuckle.

Entertaining this thought, Selene muttered, “I don’t know what wizard-kind did before they realised they could use a wand.”, as she flipped over her parchment.

It hadn’t been a real question, but none the less it had amused Louis to think up an answer to it. He chuckled, crossing his arms on the table to rest on, “I can just imagine it was a bunch of people awkwardly performing ‘accidental magic’, like when we were kids.”

His words caused Selene to laugh too, as she pictured people in old-timey clothes waving their arms accidentally and setting something on fire. “The first person to use a wand must have been like; ‘what?’!” Selene’s face got slightly warmer, as her breathing was interrupted by her chortles, “They were like ‘Bartholomew,” Louis had to cover his mouth in order to hide the snort of laughter he produced at Selene’s excellent impression of the ‘Bloody Baron’. His uncle’s impression was nothing on hers. “Thou hast pick-ethed up a stick, which doth work well-eth’ at mastering thoust powers’.”

Both of them had stomach cramps, trying to contain their laughter. Louis had tears building up in his eyes, and his face was turning red. Selene had doubled over, laughing mostly silently, the only sound being her inhaled breath and the slapping of her had against her knee. Their ‘quiet’ laughter was eventually drowned out by the librarian’s shrill cry of, “Get out of my library if you’re not going to follow the rules!”

Hurriedly, the two of them pack up all their belongings, erupting into occasional giggles every time the two caught each other’s eyes. They burst from the library’s entrance, and the Gryffindor and Slytherin stumbled along the large corridor. By the time they’d reached the end of the long hallway, they both decided it was best for them to start making their way to their respective common rooms.

There was calm silence for ten minutes.

Eventually it was broken. “So…” Louis’s shoulders were hunched over a little, his hands looking as if he’d shoved them as deep as he could, into the pockets of his school trousers. Making himself look smaller was his main way of coming off across nonchalant. However, the only thing he looked, was uncomfortable. “The, uh, first Hogsmeade trip is tomorrow. Are, um…” He paused to inhale some confidence, “Are you going to go?” Louis wanted so bad to shout out, to ask (or even beg) her to go with him on this trip. The sixth-year could imagine it now; the two of them wander the lanes of Hogsmeade together, their noses getting redder the longer that they’re out in the cold… their breath visible and intermingling, as they get closer and closer… maybe, a kiss? Oh, Louis wanted nothing more than that.

“Yeah, I-” Selene argued with herself. She shouldn’t have felt uncomfortable (awkward?) telling Louis about her upcoming date… and yet, she did. Which was absurd, because they were friends! “Uh… Actually, I have a date.” Merlin, Selene’s stomach squirmed. She felt awful admitting this to Louis, even though there was no need to, at all. Her nerves made her ramble, “With Mari Singh, from Ravenclaw. I think she’s in your Transfiguration class?” Selene went on, her mouth moving a mile a minute, but Louis heard none of it.

The blonde boy felt like he’d been physically hurt, despite knowing he certainly had absolutely no true right to feel as pained as he did. Selene Morgenstern was his soulmate, sure, but she didn’t know that. He hadn’t informed her that destiny (and, he guesses; his veela instincts) had fated them to be together. Plus, he was pretty sure that he hadn’t let on about his romantic feelings towards her either.

The Slytherin was her own person, and as such; allowed to date whomever she wanted…

But Louis was allowed to be upset about it. Even if it was irrational to be so. Boys (well, really, he’d insist that he was closer to a man, now) could be emotional too! However, he wasn’t going to expose said hurt feelings to Selene. He was upset by her words, but they were just friends… just friends, even if he did have different sentiments towards her.

Everything Louis Weasley had been taught by his family as a child was blooming into fruition in this moment; good friends support their friends – no matter the personal consequences.

As if the gods above had granted him lee-way, Louis’s turning to go up to the Gryffindor Common Room was fast approaching. “Well, uh, you have a great time! I’ll see you later!” Hastily exiting the situation seemed to be the only way to end this conversation, plus Louis was finding that his eyes were quickly filling with tears, and he didn’t want Selene to see them.

“Uh, thanks, Louis! See you!” Frantically waving at the back of the already turned-away boy was not the way a cool and collected Slytherin behaved. For love of Merlin, why was she acting like this? In true Slytherin sentiment, Selene ignored the way her stomach clenched up the moment Louis was out of sight. “Ugh, I need to get more sleep.”

* * *

Louis spent that night clutching his pillows tightly to his trembling body, desperately trying to not burst into his veela form. It was exhaustingly difficult to hold on to his human form, as his veela’s desire to fly away from all the pain he was facing was almost too powerful. The teen was virtually bursting at the seams, due to the effort it took to hold back this side of him.

His heart felt like it was under an intense pressure, as if it was being compressed. And his skin was positively feverish! Every pore along his body was asking for relief. Every muscle fibre itching for some form of freedom that only his veela form could give to him.

And to think, Louis had bitterly mused to himself, all this because I’m jealous. Louis knew, deep down, that he had no true reason to be jealous, or hurt, or sad, or angry. Selene was not his. Not his girlfriend, nor anything more than his close friend! The girl was her own woman. One who can decide for herself who she wants to love, and whom she wants to date.

Still… His acknowledgement of this fact did not miraculously send him into recovery.

Louis remained lonesome and feverish through the night.

* * *

There was a problem with Selene’s date.

Or, rather; there was a problem with Mari Singh – well, not really.

Okay, so the issue was with Selene. She was positively sure that there were a dozen other places she’d rather be, than on this date with Mari. The Slytherin clearly did not feel one iota of a romantic stirring towards the bird.

Now, that’s not to say the other girl was not lovely! Mari was smart, pretty, and rather funny - an all-around kind person.

Still, Selene found herself wishing that she was not the one opposite the Ravenclaw in the Three Broomsticks. And, that wasn’t to say it was an awful date! Not at all. It was a… nice affair. They talked over a butterbeer, and giggled at each other’s stories… And, yes; the conversation had been (sometimes) intelligent and (somewhat?) interesting.

Selene just felt like something was missing from it all, though.

“I was like; ‘why does this always happen to him?’!” Mari let out a chortle at her own story. It was a rather long-winded, yet deeply hilarious, anecdote of her families’ latest vacation. Her father apparently fell off a dinghy that the whole family had been sitting in, right into the arms of what may have been a hairy man (or, perhaps, a large bear), whilst not even in the water yet. “Anyway…”

The two female students had slowly been making their way back to the castle. And, now they were standing at the crossroads of where they’d each have to turn away to go to their separate common rooms.

Before Mari could even say anything else, Selene had to be honest with her, “Mari, I had a nice time today, but, uh, I have to be frank with you… I like you as a friend, Mari, but I-” Selene paused, to place her hand on the Ravenclaw’s shoulder and to carefully choose her following words. “I, um, I don’t feel for you, romantically that is.” Mari’s face began to crumble, “I’m sorry, but I had to be honest with you. It would be cruel for me to get your hopes up like that. You’re my friend but sparing your feelings now would only hurt you later. Right?”

Mari mulled the words over, but finally nodded her head softly.

Selene removed her palm from the other girls’ shoulder. She felt obliged to offer up some information that might soften the blow she’d just been dealt, “Plus, it wouldn’t be fair to Naomi…”

Mari’s head tilted to her left, “Gnomes?” It was a cute nickname Mari had for her roommate, fellow Ravenclaw Naomi Gardener. “W-Why would it be unfair to her?”

Selene heard the thinly veiled excitement in her voice. It was well-known within the female population of their respective year-group, that Naomi Gardner fancied Mari Singh. It was true that pretty much everyone knew that, but only Selene heard said information first-hand from Naomi. “Well, Naomi may have mentioned something to me… But it’s probably best to ask her about it.” She leant forward, pressing a friendly peck to Mari’s cheek, “Thank you for a lovely time, Mar.” Sending a wink to the girl, Selene began to walk away. “I hope we’re still friends, Mari! Good luck!”

* * *

Louis didn’t expect to see Selene the next morning.

Not because he assumed that something… like that… would happen between the two girls. No, not at all! Rather, Louis was surprised to see Selene, since he had decided to try to avoid her altogether.

Also, the idea of seeing her in the boys’ bathroom was incredibly surprising.

“Um, hello?”

Carefully, Louis angled his entire body away from the approaching teenaged girl. As quick as he could he tucked himself away and buttoned up his trousers. Due to his complexion, the flush on his cheeks was all too visible. Even knowing she could see the blush; he tried his best to act casual as he walked over to wash his hands. Selene was in his peripherals the entire time.

“So,” Louis shook his hands out, getting them dry enough to wipe against the fabric against his thighs – he didn’t even think about using his magic or wand to dry them. “Uh, what brings you to the men’s bathroom?” Before he could embarrass himself, he tucked his hands into the back pockets of his trousers. It was an attempt to seem casual.

Selene let a faux look of sadness creep onto her face, “Well, when I saw you practically running down the hallway when you saw me coming, I figured I should check on you.” She rested her shoulder on the wall to her right, “After all, I am a good friend.”

Louis’s was sure that his heart was going to jump out of his chest. Even though he knew that she was being a nice person, a great friend, his veela hindbrain was absolutely screaming at him. Surely that meant she was accepting the bond! Checking on her mate, right? Merlin! Louis had to snap himself out of those thoughts, because they weren’t facts. He knew first-hand that not thinking truthfully only damaged your own feelings.

“I- I just,” Louis was tongue-tied now. How exactly could he explain that he didn’t want to hear about her amazing date with bloody Mari Singh? “Well-”

Selene cut him off, not wanting to hear any of his poor attempts at lying to her, “I wanted to vent to you, about my date last night.” She rushed out first, before pausing. The Slytherin was gathering herself, choosing her next words carefully. “It was alright.”

The male noticed the lack of enthusiasm in her description of the event. His stomach lurched in awkward excitement.

She let out a quiet laugh, “You know… I was going to talk to Emmaline about it all, but-” Her head lolled to the side as she thought hard, “But I don’t know, I just-” Eventually, Selene pushed off the wall she was leaning on and strolled closer to the him. “I guess I just really wanted to talk to you.”

Louis was sure that he wasn’t breathing. “Oh.” In fact, he was pretty sure that he hadn’t been breathing for Selene’s entire speech. “Okay. Yeah… Alright.” Taking his hand from his pocket, he gestured over towards the exit of the bathroom, “Shall we, then?” Yes, that was normal. If only his heartbeat could chill out, too.

Luckily for them, there was only one first year in the otherwise empty hallway. Said single first year awkwardly still stood, deer-in-headlights-style, as they witnessed the two elder teens exit the boy’s’ bathroom together.

* * *

“So,” Louis was trying his best to seem calm, “It didn’t go well?” He paused, before clarifying, “Your date, I mean.”

The two of them were back in the school’s library. It was during a shared free period of theirs, and like always Selene and Louis were nestled together at their table. Heads were pushed closer to one another than strictly needed, both attempting to talk as quietly – they were in fear of the librarian, who had already given them both the most scathing look when they’d walked in talking.

“No, it was fine.” Selene answered him, her lips twisting into a grimace as she thought over the date, “Nothing awful, it just - it didn’t feel right.” She played with the quill in her hand, “I guess when I’m on a date, I want it to feel nicer than a ‘fine’ or ‘alright’.”

Louis nodded, understanding what she meant. “True.” There was silence as the blond wrote down a sentence or two on his parchment. He could feel the tingle of Selene’s eyes watching him do so. “So,” He began again, “No second date, then?”

Selene averted her eyes from his form, pretending that she didn’t catch him observing her from the very corner of his eye. “Not with Mari, no.” She looked down to her work, and unbeknownst to her Louis did as well.

Both had smiles on their faces.


	6. What A Revelation!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an altered AU, where the timelines and canon may or may not match up.

Three weeks after her awkward date with Mari Singh, Selene felt the first sign.

The young woman was mid-conversation with her friends, whilst they all sat at the Slytherin breakfast table. Well, it was less of a conversation and much more like an unnecessarily heated debate. Today’s (debate) topic was the correct pronunciation of the word ‘gala’. Ben Boot, a well-travelled young man, had informed his three closest companions that he’d recently discovered that many Americans pronounced the word as ‘gay-la’, rather than ‘gah-la’. Which was entirely wrong in Selene’s opinion.

Emery took a dramatic breath before she bravely announced that she too pronounced the word as ‘gay-la’. “It sounds right that way!” At her friends sneers, she defended herself, “Well it does to me!”

“Disgusting.”

“Absolutely.”

Emmaline pressed her fist over her eyes, looking away from her sister, “You think you know someone!”

Their friendly razzing of Emery went on for a bit. Eventually though, it faded out as the students needed to finish their breakfasts before they went on to their morning classes.

Glancing across the Great Hall, Emmaline commented, “It looks like lover-boy’s fan-club is getting bigger, huh?” She sent a rather sneaky glance towards Selene, who was chewing on her toast, as she spoke.

“Huh? What club?”

Ben mimed to Selene that she had crumbs clinging to the side of her lip, “Oh, you know! Your boy-toy’s little fans. Oh, no, no, on your left side.”

Successfully ridding herself of the clinging crumbs, Selene’s eyebrows drew into a furrow, “What are you lot on about?”

Emery sniggered, “You’re little Gryffindor, Sel.”

“Huh? You mean Louis?” 

“Oh,” Emmaline teased, “So she does know who we’re talking about!”

Selene was a little stunned by their teasing remarks. A part of her understood why her friends must have assumed there to be a romance forming between the two. After all, Selene was not the type of person to immediately latch onto a new friend, especially in the way she had with Louis. Did she become casual acquaintances with people? Yes. Did Selene seek them out, then spend hours talking and laughing with those new acquaintances? No. Like most people, the young girl could be considered a creature of habit. Not seeing much need to branch out, Selene tended to stick with her tried-and-tested friend group. To add a new person into the role of friend meant something to her, growth. But, to her overly hopeful friends all of whom wanted only the absolute best for their friend; this friendship looked more like a potentially blossoming relationship.

And that was the wrong assumption…

“Okay,” She took a sip of her water, before she turned to look at them, “First of all; Louis and I are friends. He is not my ‘lover-boy’.” She ignored Ben’s ‘but you want him to be’. “Second of all, yes I’ve heard about his fan club. They’re… uh, they are…” Selene struggled to find a kind but straight-forward word for ‘a little bit scary, but mainly weird’.

“Creepy? Yes.” Emery answered, blasé. “Like, I would be the first among us to admit that Weasley is super fit.” An uncomfortable ripple raced through Selene’s gut. Briefly, the girl wondered if her monthlies (as her mothers’ called it) were making an appearance earlier than usual this month. “However, I agree that this whole club thing is very weird.”

Ben nodded, “Yeah! I mean, Louis is cute. And yes! I think we all would let him slap our arse, should he so choose to!” Emmaline and Emery both nodded at his words, and Emery even lifted her glass of pumpkin juice in toast. “But, lovey, dearie, sweet love-child-of-mine, just put the school out of its misery, and claim that Adonis as your own!”

Inwardly, her stomach rolled again at his first statement, stopping suddenly once speaking had trailed to a finish. Outwardly, however, Selene cheekily rolled her eyes as if she was amused by Ben’s exasperation on the subject. “Whatever.” She dismissed it all nonchalantly, before standing up from the bench. “Let’s get going, I want to stop by the hospital wing before class. My stomach’s not feeling right today.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Emmaline swiftly rushed her friend out of the Great Hall, the Slytherin girl’s worry-wort nature taking the reins.

* * *

There is an old muggle saying, once could be a coincidence but twice suggests a pattern.

The uncomfortable turn of her stomach – the one that had made Selene previously think that she wanted to be sick, or that she had cramps early that month – appeared again. And the sensation appeared as suddenly as it had before…

And, with the holidays approaching, it felt like everyone was getting progressively more excited for the end of term. The entire castle had begun its descent into excitement for the upcoming holidays.

Like in muggle shopping villages and districts, Hogwarts began the festivities almost as soon as the calendar switched from November to December. The corridors were decked out with red and green coloured wreaths and garlands. The house elves worked diligently, silently completing their work in a single night.

Tiny first years had started to gather together with older students. A portion of them prepared gifts and played games for Hanukkah. The students who celebrated Solstice and Yule were already marching across the school’s lawns for items they wanted to use in their altars – this particular group was an interesting mix of muggle-born ideologies of wicca and witches, as well as the magical version of wizardry. Those who celebrated Christmas were doing their best to stock up on papers for wrapping, they were ordering rolls of it by owl ready for their last few Hogsmeade trips before the 25th. Even the professors were getting into the spirit – Professor Longbottom had his singing tulips (which were a rare find of his from a trek across the Scandies in his late twenties) hum seasonal songs whilst he taught.

And as the term wound down, most of the students were gearing up to take the train back down to London. There were a few who were eager to be left (relatively) alone in the quiet castle. Selene happened to be undecided on the subject, tossing up whether she should stay or to go home and celebrate Yule with her busy mothers’.

The Slytherin was mulling it over when she was heading back to the common room. She only had one class left for term, but the textbook she needed was in her dorm. For a moment, she thought about sneakily using the accio charm, but knew it was banned for a good reason – flying objects can be hazardous when not charmed to fly above people after all. She weighed the pros and cons; she’d have more things to do in the castle, more people to talk to, her parents would probably have to work on Yule… Eventually, she decided to stay at Hogwarts for the holiday. When she got to her dorm, she would owl her mothers to let them know.

She turned the corner that lead to the grand staircase, thinking about asking if Ben was going to hang around the castle too this year. Selene had seen that the girls had already packed their trunk to leave, so she didn’t feel a particular need to ask them the same.

Unfortunately, Selene’s next turn into the adjacent corridor had led her to be the sole witness as an older girl (from the year above) slid her claws over the forearm of a familiar-looking blonde boy.

That stomach turn happened again.

Selene swiftly turned around, deciding to walk to the common room the long way. Also, she had suddenly decided to return to her home for the holidays.

* * *

Yule celebrations came and went early in her home.

Selene’s mothers were very apologetic when they told Selene that they’d have to work on the day of Yule. Still, the three of them had held a smaller, more intimate celebration a few days before.

The earlier celebration left the young girl to aimlessly wander around her own home on the actual day of Yule. She was bored out of her mind. It was approaching the late morning and Selene had already cracked onto her holiday homework – all part-the-way-done, apart from a Runes essay, which required a lengthy reading of a textbook that she had left behind whilst franticly packing. 

The Slytherin had decided she should finally owl the school, to see if they could let her off on the Runes essay, or at the least send over her the textbook. She had made her way up to family attic, where her great-great-grandparents had set up a make-shift aviary for their business owls years ago. Apparently, back then they had run a small mail-order potions business. It was a Morgenstern family rumour that they sold an illegal werewolf suppressant potion, before wolfsbane had even been invented. 

Selene’s owl hooted softly to the girl, making its presence known. It sat on rigidly on its perch, a pile of letters and small boxes on a tall table to its immediate left. Selene pet the owl carefully, slipping the bird two treats. Then, she arranged some more water and feed for it before she gathered up all her mail.

“Thank you, Soot!” 

The first few letters were Christmas cards from her various muggleborn friends, some including cute non-moving photographs of their families. One had a Father Christmas who was drawn to be surfing on a beach, from her friend whose family spent the holidays in Australia. Another was a sexy version of the red-clad man, the words asking if she’d been ‘naughty’ that year – that one was from Naomi Gardner, who had written in thanks for setting her up with Mari.

Ben had done what he usually did and had written her a lengthy letter. He opened it with a greeting, as well as some well wishes to Selene and her mothers. Then Ben informed her that he had decided to stay at Hogwarts that year (which was usual for Ben, as he kind of hated his extended family, who had a tradition of gathering together this time of year), and that he loved the gift that she’d left for him under the Slytherin common room tree. At that point in the letter, the boy demanded that Selene open the gift he had included. It was a gorgeous goblin-made quilt set in her favourite shade of mauve.

Ben went on in his letter to detail the latest gossip going around the castle, ‘It turns out that wench in the year above, you know the one! The absolute wench Julie McNamara, that swish! She was seen trying to flirt with your mother-missing boy before term ended! I cannot believe the gall of the wench! Everybody knows that he only has eyes for you, I swear!’

Last year, Ben had been gifted with a spelled pen. It automatically censored his cursing. It had been a joke-gift from Emery but ended up being his favourite writing utensil to date. As such, Selene had fitted it with a never-ending ink-well, and Emmaline had spelled it to be impossible to lose.

He went on; ‘Apparently, he had to have his family step in! The wench just wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I’m telling you Selene; everyone said that it was absolutely disgusting! She had to be formally warned away by the professors too. In this day and age!’

Selene felt an unclear anger suddenly rush through her body.

She could easily see how Julie McNamara would make Louis uncomfortable. He was such a lovely guy, but he got awkward when anyone even jokingly flirted with him. In fact, the first time she ever jokingly winked at him, his face went fuchsia for three-and-a-half minutes. Poor Louis! Selene could picture in her mind how her Louis would try to uneasily shift away from her, but…

Her hand released Ben’s letter. It fluttered to the carpeted floor silently.

Oh.

“Oh,” Selene breathed, tears springing to her eyes for no reason. Her thoughts were now cleared like the sky after a storm, “I like him.” That explained so, so much. So much. “Bollocks.”

The week following her realisation, Selene was working on autopilot. She went about her days like nothing was out of the ordinary. Dinner with her mothers, doing her school reading, finishing up the assessments she’d started before… Selene did it all, without a single complaint.

That worried her mothers.

“Sweetheart?”

“Hmm?” Selene looked up from her plate to see her mother, Dorothea, looking at her in concern. “Sorry, did you ask me something?”

The woman shook her head, dark curls bouncing as she did. “No, sweetheart. We just, you know –” 

“The point your mother is trying to get to,” Her other mother, Appoline, sent her wife a cheeky glance before her expression melted into a concerned one. “Are you feeling alright, Selene?” At her daughter’s furrowed brows, she went on, “Your mother and I have noticed that you seem to be a little spacey, dear.” Her tanned skin pulled taut around her pursed lips, “Are you having a disagreement with the girls?” Appoline was referring to Emmaline and Emery, as well as Ben.

“No, I…” Selene wasn’t even sure what to say. Her teenaged brain told her to lie to their faces. Letting her parents know too much about her school life, her social life, might lead to a lecture Selene did not want to sit through… Although, “I just realised that I, uh, fancy one of my friends. A lot.” The Slytherin had been stewing in the idea all week and was now desperate to at least speak the words out loud. “I, um, I didn’t realise until, like, last week.” She paused, pushing her vegetables around on her plate, avoiding their surprised eyes. “So… yeah. That’s it really.”

There was a moment of awkward, confused silence.

Clearing her throat, Dorothea spoke to her daughter sincerely. “Is this something you want to discuss with us further, sweetheart?” 

Selene mulled over how to answer. Did she want to talk about this? Maybe. Until now, she didn’t realise how pent up she had begun to feel. Did Selene want to open up to her married parents about this, though? Two lesbians (well, one of her mothers is bisexual), who had been monogamously together for longer than ten years? Not really.

The teen smiled awkwardly at her parents, “Actually, I think I want to talk to the girls about it. I might send them an owl, or-” Selene stopped herself, to think on it for a moment longer, “This is probably something I want to say to them in person, though.”

“Okay.” Appoline nodded in understanding, before she tactfully changed their dinner conversation, “So, I was listening to this Korean band yesterday.”

* * *

She brought it up with her friends when they were all corralled in the safety of the common room. Selene waited until it was late, as there would be less people around to hear them discuss something so personal. Slipping it into the already flowing conversation, “I realised I fancy Louis.”

All speaking stopped. Ben, who had been using his personal copy of ‘Hogwarts; A History – Volume 24’ to prove a point, loudly snapped it shut. Emery had paused mid-chew, and there was a gummy serpent still hanging from the corner of her parted lips. Emmaline, who was sat next to Selene, stared at her friend in complete shock.

Selene shuffled nervously in her seat, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“Girl, what do you mean–?”

“’Just realised’?” Emery finished her sisters thought, the gummy falling into her lap.

Selene sighed, the sound tinged with embarrassment, “Well… When you lads were making fun of me, saying that ‘of course I liked him’.” The three nodded, knowing the instances she was talking of, “I, uh,” She let out a breath chuckle, “Well, I didn’t know. I thought I only liked Louis as a mate, you know; a friend.” Her head tilted, “I mean, I’ve always been attracted to him,” Her head tilted the other way, “I just did not know that I, uh, you know… fancied him. Like proper fancy, you know?”

Ben’s mouth was agape.

“No. I don’t know.” Emmaline disagreed. “How did you not know?” To Selene’s friends, it was so clear – her feelings had been so transparent to them, so see-through. “You were undressing him with your eyes, for Merlin’s sake!”

“I was not!” Selene argued indignantly.

“Oh, you were too!” Ben argued back. “The two of you are always looking at each other, starry eyed. Frankly, it’s a little sickening. And not in a good way!” He flung his book behind him, leaning closer to Selene. “We told you, as well!”

Emery nodded, “We did!” She viciously bit the head of her now-retrieved gummy serpent, “And,” She paused to quickly chew, “You basically go on study-dates, nearly every bloody day.” Emmaline nodded in agreement with her sister. “Babes, when you said you were going out with Mari, on Halloween, we were so confused!”

Ben sighed, “Ah, that’s right! Ugh, we were convinced that you had been courting Weasley before that.” 

Selene scoffed, “Courting him? I barely know him!”

In wizarding society, courting was serious. It was like a person screaming their personal commitment to another in a court of law. There was no way to go even one day without another wizard finding out about the commitment. Firstly, because every child was taught about the process in their first year of education at whatever school they attend. Secondly, every couple entering into courtship had to be witnessed by three other witches or wizards, as a testament to how serious the process is (and also because three is a deeply important number to magic-users). Young witches and wizards could date to their hearts content, but courting meant a true declaration of intent – the intent being marriage or a binding, of course. There had been times where dating had led into courting. And they were also rarely broken, due to the gravity of the whole process.

There would have been no way for Louis to be in a courtship with Selene – her heart ached in joy, at the thought of being in anything with the blonde Gryffindor – without any other person knowing.

Emmaline scoffed back, mocking Selene, “’Barely know him’?” She smacked Selene’s shoulder, “You spend everyday in each other’s presence, you should know everything about each other by now!”

“Well, not everything!”

Emery butt in, “You definitely know enough!”

“What are his sister’s names again?”, Ben challenged her.

“Victoire and Dominique,” Selene answered automatically, before rolling her eyes, “That’s a basic thing to know about another person!”

Emmaline nodded, “Alright then, what are his cousins’ called?” Selene looked away from her, not wanting to see the smug look on her face, “You know them, don’t you?”

“Wow!”

“It’s not private information!” Selene argued with them, “We do go to school with half of them!”

Ben gave her a disbelieving look, “I bet you couldn’t name the collective five cousins that we,” He pointed to himself, then the twins, “Have had at this school.”

“Daisy, Marcus, Kipper, Damien,” Selene struggled with the last one, “I, I want to say Humphrey…”

“Oh, honey…”

* * *

One moment she was completely oblivious to these feelings she had, and was living her life perfectly normally, the next moment she’s almost paralyzed – with what she wasn’t completely comfortable in calling fear… but it was an emotion closely related.

Also, there were questions clogging her thoughts now… Should she tell Louis of her feelings for him? Should she leave it be? Most importantly, how is she to act around Louis now?

Her mind shouted many ways not to act – and the dozens of reasons why she shouldn’t act in those ways. But how could she maintain their previous easy camaraderie? That camaraderie, and their ability to instinctively know what the other is thinking, was so comforting before. A small pit of dread pooled in her stomach, at the thought of losing that friendship with Louis.

When this dilemma was brought up to the girls (which again, included Ben), they told her to act as she had before – mainly because they knew she liked him even then, so there shouldn’t be too much acting involved for her.

“So, how were the holidays for you?” Louis had joined Selene at their study table, as usual. He quickly slung his bag off his shoulder, before plopping down onto the wooden chair. “Anything exciting happen?” The Gryffindor leaned over the table to whisper conspiratorially, “Any fights?”

Selene’s pulse spiked at his proximity, but she quickly composed herself to the best of her resting-bitch-faced ability. Once she was normal again, she realised that the question made no sense to her, “Like a physical fight?” 

Louis choked trying to hold in his raucous laughter at her question. Although, he was not as successful as he might have had hoped for. Even though the blonde covered his mouth, hushed chortles managed to escape. Louis’s eyes even watered. After a moment, he forced himself to take deep breaths, to compose himself. “Sorry. I forgot you’re an only child.” Selene’s confused look did not fade, “You know, there’s just a certain level of craziness that having siblings brings. Plus, the high tension of the holidays... With my family, there’s more than enough sparks flung about to start a fire.” Louis paused as he remembered, “In fact, two years ago; there was an actual fire.”

Selene’s eyes widened, “No!”

“Yes.” Louis leaned forward again, excitement and humour plain on his sweet face as he remembered the absurdity of the situation, “So the twins-” 

Purposely, the Slytherin guessed one name wrong, “Rosie and Fred, right?”

Louis beamed, oblivious to her purposeful mix-up. He was just overjoyed that his mate was putting in effort in remembering his extensive family members. “Roxanne and Fred,” The blonde softly corrected. “Well, they decide one afternoon, that my grandpa Weasley’s Christmas tree was not festive enough.”

The dark-haired girl tilted her head, “Is that your grandfather who is obsessed with muggles?”

“Yes!” Louis did not think he could be grinning more – surely, his face might split in half if he even tried. “So, every year he brings out this ancient fake Christmas tree – it was a gift from my Aunt Hermione’s parents, probably about twenty years ago.” He paused, to duck his head when the librarian glared their way, with her penetrating, evil eyes. Louis waited until she turned back around before he went on, “The twins knew that most trees had lights on them, but grandpa Weasley didn’t… They managed to convince him that he should use candles.”

Selene’s eyes sprung into wide-eyed shock, “They didn’t!” At Louis confirming nod she pressed, “At least he charmed them, right?” The blonde’s face turned mischievous. “No! He forgot?” Her gasps had been quiet enough, but they always had an audience when they were together.

Two first year Hufflepuffs (who had twenty-four textbooks piled between their arms) got to watch firsthand as Selene dissolved into a fit of laughter. It began with a loud snort, which left Selene trying to cover her face. To no avail it seemed, as her giggles were audible all the way from where the first years were lollygagging. One of the Hufflepuffs decided that they way Louis was gazing at her – his eye lit up at her enjoyment, not daring to look away for even one moment – had to be what true love was.


End file.
